


Kind of Like This

by Rhynnam_Slade



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Flash Fic, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining, Touring, a bit of angst, i don't know how to tag this really sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-14
Updated: 2013-09-14
Packaged: 2017-12-26 12:40:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/966036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhynnam_Slade/pseuds/Rhynnam_Slade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Liam develops feelings for Louis and has absolutely no idea what to do with them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Kind of Like This

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know where this came from but I did my best to do justice to how it felt in my head. It's not ideal but I don't think I could justify spending another week or so trying to perfect something so short when I have a lot of other things to be working on, so here you go! 
> 
> I've never posted anything on here before so forgive my terrible mess in the tags! Comments/feedback are encouraged :)
> 
> (also forgive the lame title; let's just say titles are not something I have any skill with)

“It's kind of like this,” Louis says cheerfully to the interviewer, before jumping out of his chair and demonstrating some crazy dance move he's probably just made up. Liam grins and shakes his head as the live audience goes wild; Louis is good at that, at making people love him. As Louis takes a seat once more, Liam dives right into the banter between his bandmates, forcing a laugh at Harry's joke because he doesn't want to think about how much he enjoyed watching Louis shake his ass.

 *

“Whaddya say to that?” Harry hollers at Louis in their hotel room later, after just managing to snag fourth place in their game of Uno, beating Louis by one card. “You looost, how does that make you feel?” he drawls smugly.

“Kind of like this,” Louis says in response, flipping Harry off with a bright smile and both hands, sending Niall into fits of laughter as Harry frowns. Liam shares an amused look with Zayn (they were, of course, the first two to win), then feels himself break into a stupid grin as Louis elbows him in the side and winks conspiratorially. It's not really that funny, but Liam suddenly finds himself thinking Louis might be the most entertaining guy in the world.

 *

“It sounds kind of like this!” Louis shouts at a concert the next night, waving his microphone around like a conductor's baton as Niall and Harry start singing a jingle they all made up a few days ago for invisible socks. Louis joins in a second later, then stops and yells at Liam for not singing. Liam folds his arms and walks away, toward where Zayn is stalking along the edge of the stage. He knows it's coming, but he still lets out a grunt of surprise when he feels Louis slam into him from behind and they both go sprawling forward onto the ground. As they wrestle around, Liam realizes he's enjoying this a little too much, feeling a little too reluctant to let go of this full-body contact between the two of them. He disengages a little too quickly at that, but Louis barely seems to notice and it's all forgotten by the time they start the next song.

 *

“What was it like?” Liam asks on the bus a few nights later, lying comfortably on the floor with Zayn's head on his stomach. Niall is perched on his bunk, red-faced from laughing at all the “horrible date” stories they've been telling.

“It was kind of like this,” Louis responds, turning to Harry (who's sitting next to him) and throwing himself into a kiss. Liam feels Zayn's head jerk a little as he lets out a snort, and hoarse “HAHAHAs” come pelting down from Niall's bunk. Harry endures it for a minute, then tries to push Louis off and sit up at the same time, resulting in his head slamming back into the floor several times and Niall loudly announcing he's wet his pants. Liam tries to smile, but he's suddenly not in the mood for their usual antics. He knows Harry's the only one who's really never bothered by Louis doing stuff like that, but he finds himself wishing he'd been the one sitting next to Louis instead. Fleeing to the loo a short time later, Liam wraps his arms around himself and wonders just what the hell is wrong with him lately.

 *

“Tell us a joke, Lou! How about the one that girl told you at the club the other night?” Harry calls across the stage at their next concert. Liam's sitting next to him, poking his shoulder repeatedly with the bottom of his microphone, and a minute later he's rewarded with a swat from one of Harry's large hands. He giggles mischievously, then looks up as Louis aggressively shushes the crowd so he can tell his joke.

“Well, Harry, it goes kind of like this...” he begins, looking out at the crowd, and Liam takes the opportunity to admire the way Louis' eyelashes rest against his skin and the way every movement he makes is full of life and energy. Liam doesn't even hear the joke, but he laughs when it's over, because the way Louis' eyes scrunch up is the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

 *

“It's kind of like this,” Louis announces to the boys as they sit watching movies in their hotel room. He holds up a piece of paper with a crudely-drawn heart on it. They all look up at it, and Niall grins and slaps Louis on the back. The other boys jump on Louis in a congratulatory dog-pile, but Liam is less than enthusiastic about the sudden change in Louis' demeanor lately now that he knows the cause. Louis hasn't said anything about who's captured his heart, but it doesn't really matter. Liam tries to look happy, and Louis seems to buy it, but Zayn touches Liam's hand and tilts his head quizzically, and Liam knows he can't keep this to himself much longer.

 *

“I'd do something...kind of like this,” Louis says, answering the question (“what would you do if you were attacked by ninjas?”) with a sudden flurry of kicks and punches, a few insults, and an impressively fierce facial expression. Liam barely glances away from the pen he's flipping in the air and catching; over, and over, and over. He doesn't really need to concentrate that hard, because he's really good at catching things, but it's an excuse not to look at Louis. It's not like Louis will even notice.

“What the HELL, Liam?” Louis suddenly bursts out, causing Liam to jump. “You weren't even looking, were you. What a sorry excuse for a friend you are. Go stand in the corner!”

Liam looks up at Louis' glare and his pointing finger, and tries to think of what he's expected to do next. The other boys, sitting behind Louis, are looking across the room at Liam with differing levels of concern, and Liam realizes he's taking way too long to remember how to act. He shrugs and says “Sorry, mate” to Louis, then thinks to add “You can show me again, if you like.” Louis looks dissatisfied, but he lets it slide. Liam just barely stifles his sigh of relief a few minutes later when Zayn invites him to come along while he has a smoke outside. He meets Zayn's eyes gratefully and pretends not to hear Harry trying to pacify a suddenly angry Louis as they both leave the room.

 *

“So, what is it then, Liam? What's your problem lately?” Louis demands the next evening, pacing back and forth before stopping directly in front of Liam, his face a little too close to Liam's for comfort. Liam takes a step back, glowering down at Louis and then checking his watch.

“Dammit,” Louis spits, grabbing Liam's wrist and pushing it downward. “You know full well that we don't go onstage for another hour. Answer me, Liam!” Liam doesn't say anything, just keeps his frown fixed firmly in place, not quite meeting Louis' eyes.

“You coward,” Louis hisses suddenly, and Liam is shocked to see a fist coming at him. Acting mostly out of reflex, he leans sideways and catches Louis' arm with his hand, then shoves him hard enough to send him stumbling backward.

And suddenly Liam's angry, angry enough to follow Louis' backward motion, angry enough to force him to keep backing up until he hits the wall. Liam towers over him, fists clenched, but Louis doesn't look afraid. Louis is never afraid of anything. He's not afraid of confrontation, not afraid to take life by the horns and ride it to infinity. Not afraid of telling people what he thinks, or how he feels. Some girl out there already knows how he feels about her, and Liam starts to shake because if he was more like Louis, maybe he wouldn't have to worry about that. Maybe it wouldn't be too late. _Maybe it's not_ , he thinks, suddenly resolute.

“Well, Liam?” Louis asks, seeing the change in Liam's expression. Liam puts his hands on either side of Louis head and takes a deep breath.

“It's kind of like this,” Liam whispers, and presses his lips softly against Louis' for a moment before walking away.

 *

“Louis, stop humming,” Niall groans from his bunk in the bus several hours later. “Tryna sleep.”

Louis is silent for a few minutes, then he starts bouncing up and down on his bunk, causing an annoying squeak to permeate the air. Everyone tries to ignore it, and Liam pretends he's asleep, but finally Harry sits up and asks Louis what the hell is going on. Liam opens his eyes and waits for Louis' answer.

Louis grins and dives into Liam's bunk, landing directly on top of him. Frozen, Liam looks up into Louis' eyes, feeling his warm breath wash across his face, making his heart pound and stutter.

Louis finds Liam's hand under the blanket, and grips it tightly with his own. His eyelashes flutter and he suddenly leans down and kisses Liam decisively for a few seconds. He breaks away and meets Liam's surprised gaze, breathing a soft “finally” across Liam's lips, before turning to look smugly into the shocked silence of the other boys' bunks.

“Well, lads,” he announces loudly, grinding his hips lewdly against Liam's, “it's kind of like this.”


End file.
